Lethal Lewis stays cool to put Alonso in his place

By JONATHAN McEVOY

Last updated at 08:56 18 June 2007

It was the beginning of lap 39 at the famous old Brickyard and Lewis Hamilton showed the world what he is made of. Fernando Alonso, pursuing the British rookie from second place, put his foot flat on the accelerator at 200mph and demanded of the young pretender: 'Hold me off if you think you're hard enough.'

The world champion wriggled level with the race leader. The wheels of their McLarens came within inches of touching and carsmattering implications. Hamilton stayed cool, pushed Alonso to the left and dived round the righthander fractionally in front.

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It was a magical moment of adrenaline-pumped motor racing which not only won Hamilton the American Grand Prix - a second career victory in the space of eight incredible days - but asserted himself as the team's current top racer and world championship favourite.

The build-up was dominated by

'talk of the keen rivalry between the drivers. No wonder Alonso felt the need to sound off. He is genuinely shaken by Hamilton's breathtaking debut season. Remember, the 22-year-old had not even seen this track before last Thursday, yet he drove like a veteran.

Indianapolis is fighting for its place on the Formula One circuit. America has been slow to embrace its culture, which is viewed as both European and sterile compared to the muscular saloons competing in NASCAR.

However, there was nothing wrong with the fare on offer yesterday. The vast concrete stands which can seat 257,000 spectators were marginally less than half full but there was no lack of atmosphere as the cars lined up on the grid.

Klaxons sounded while the announcer cranked up the tension. The Star Spangled Banner rang out and American rapper Pharrell Williams, a guest of McLaren, added to the spectacle and wished his fan Hamilton all the best.

There was drama right from the start. Alonso, starting second, ripped away from the line and immediately came wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton. He had a peek to see if he could squeeze by. He veered over but was forced to yield to his team-mate. Further down the field, Toyota's Ralf Schumacher, Red Bull's David Coulthard and Honda's Rubens Barrichello became entangled in a race-ending melee.

Schumacher, under pressure for his job, walked back to the pits and possibly out of the sport.

The fans here were big admirers of his brother Michael, 'the most winningest driver' at Indianapolis with five grands prix victories to his name. Ferrari colours dominated the stands - with a smattering of Union Flags and 'Go Lewis' banners - but the Italian team were just short of McLaren's pace. Felipe Massa finished third and Kimi Raikkonen fourth.

It was a thrilling duel up at the front. Alonso popped in a fastest lap, only for Hamilton to respond in kind to open up a 3.9sec lead by his first pit-stop on lap 21.

Alonso was in just one lap later and emerged from the pit lane fractionally behind his 'No 2'. It was far from over, though, as Alonso clung on to the leader's coat-tails.

A gap of 1.2sec was hacked back to 0.6sec as they came into a cluster of backmarkers.

Would Hamilton be held up and leave a gap for Alonso to blast himself through? How would Hamilton respond with the title-holder breathing down his neck?

He did not flinch, as their joust on lap 38 proved. Having held Alonso off on the track, it only remained to see whether he would be overtaken during their second pit-stops.

Alonso was first in. Would Hamilton creep out ahead of Alonso? He did, by just 50 yards.

It was effectively the end for Alonso, with Hamilton finishing

1.5sec ahead of the Spaniard, who showed his frustration by waving his fist at the pit wall.

Nothing, however, seems to faze the new star. He arrived at a track he had never seen following a nightmare journey. His flight from Washington was delayed by storms and then cancelled, forcing him into an unscheduled night in the capital.

He charmed the crowd by waving, signing autographs and saying all the right things whenever a microphone was pushed under his nose. He is a natural.

He was equally sure-footed in the cockpit. Yes, Alonso had the edge in practice and the first two sessions of qualifying, but when it counted in the shoot-out for pole, Hamilton banged in the fastest time on Saturday afternoon. All that in high temperatures and with hay fever.

It was a masterclass in managing the weekend.

If Alonso has one extra weapon in his armoury, it is experience. How to prepare himself in the days and hours before the race should be one of his strong points, but here it evidently was not. He is now under the most intense pressure of his career.

Alarmingly for Alonso, Hamilton has raced at all of the next seven circuits: France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Italy and Belgium. You could even say it is his championship to lose.